


The Meaning of Duty

by Rehlia



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bittersweet, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Sad, Undertale Neutral Route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-09-25 05:26:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9804461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rehlia/pseuds/Rehlia
Summary: duty, noun1. a moral or legal obligation; a responsibility2. a task or action that one is required to perform as part of one's jobThe barrier is broken, but he is still the king.





	

When the barrier finally breaks it's with the sound of shattering glass, magnified by the sheer size of the thing, and yet in many ways, it's a very quiet moment. Quieter in many ways than the events preceding it, the battle and the roar of power surging through a transforming body as seven human souls meld with one monster soul and a new god awakens.

The corpse of the last human was still fresh behind the king when he absorbed the final soul, their battle having ended only mere moments before.

There had been no sense in waiting. 

The other six souls had been right there, waiting patiently in their glass tubes for him to use them along with the seventh. 

Monsterkind had waited so long for this moment. Drawing it out would have been beyond cruel. 

He absorbed the souls, felt their power melding with his own, felt their emotions bleed into him, felt his body grow even larger in size as he acquired the power of a god.

It was a power he never wanted.

But it was it was his duty, and he fulfilled it like so many others before. With the power of seven souls inside of him, the barrier had suddenly felt like such a flimsy thing instead of the impenetrable bastion of energy he had perceived it as before. It took what felt like so little pressure to break it. A concentrated burst of his new power, small when compared to his now endless reserves, was sufficient to make the magical walls of their prison crumble. 

It felt anticlimactic.

So much time of imprisonment and then, just like that, it was over. 

And now they are free. 

The king looks up, regards the corridor that opens up behind where the barrier once stood with cautious anticipation, and takes a step. Then a second. The long cape on his shoulders now feels too short for his body, no longer sweeping on the ground behind him. His crown is tiny. The massive trident he wields might just as well be a fork. He is lucky he even fits through the corridor at all, even though he has to duck.

The further he walks, the more he can smell and hear things that for so long, he had only gotten small glimpses of through the holes in the ceiling of the throne room, so far away. The smells of a forest and the sound of birds singing, rays of bright sunlight. 

When he emerges from the tunnel - emerges from Mount Ebott - he stills. 

The vista in front of him is achingly beautiful, picture-perfect as if straight from a fairytale book.

The side of the mountain leads down in a sharp incline covered in trees, different ones than the high pine trees of Snowdin Forest. The sun is setting over the sea in the distance, transforming the water into sparkling shades of yellow and orange. The sky is transitioning from light blues and soft pinks into darker hues of prussian and purple overhead, a first hint of stars visible as it darkens. Between the ocean and the forest stands a city, high rectangular buildings with many lights visible in as many windows.

He can feel the emotions of the souls grow more intense next to his own, joy and anger and jealousy and sadness. Still, they don't fight him as he stands here. They are just present. 

The king is glad for their lack of struggle. It allows him a moment of piece, of which he has so few, a moment where he can just be. 

Breathing. 

Taking it all in.

Of course it does not last.

The barrier is gone, and that means he must think about the future. For so long, much of his efforts had been directed towards making the Underground a better place to live for monsters - food, light, clean water, energy, space issues, the list of topics was endless. Add to that the efforts to stay alert in case a human fell, the training of guards and sentries and the construction of puzzles, and there had been little time to plan for the future.

Little time for anything, really, he hasn't thought about his personal enjoyment in so long that he can't even remember _how_ long exactly it was. But the planning for a future after their imprisonment is something that he _should_ have found time for, to make sure he fulfills his duty as king of all monsters.

Now, that kind of planning will be at the top of the agenda, and the first steps must occur fast. 

He has to think about the first contact between humans and monsters, must think about how to best assure the humans that they wish to be peaceful - he does want that, although not all of his subjects agree - and, although he hates to think about it, he must consider the possibility of the peaceful approach failing, and prepare for another war. 

Another thing he finds no enjoyment in. 

But it is never about his enjoyment anymore.

Only duty.

The soft sound of steps behind him is intimately familiar and tells him that this moment is no longer his own to savour or use for thinking. 

But it is just as well; having someone else to speak to, to ask for advice on his plans and ideas, someone who knows just as much about ruling as he does - who understands the meaning of _duty_ and what it sometimes means for an individual… that will be helpful, comforting even.

His judge and most trusted advisor joins him on the plateau that sits before the entrance to the Underground, stilling as he takes in the view as well. The king can see that the beauty in front of him is just as impressive to the small skeleton next to him.

It takes Sans a while before he lifts his head and regards the changed form of his ruler.

“you did it.”

There's a certain sadness there, but also pride as his brother takes in his new form. 

“I did,” Papyrus says quietly. “It was my duty as the king.”

Sans looks at him for a few more moments.

“i’m proud of ya, pap. even asgore didn’t manage this in the end, ‘n after he ‘n everyone... you had a much harder time pullin’ it off again. i wish you wouldn't have to do this, but i’m proud of you.”

Papyrus thinks about that and then leans down and carefully scoops his brother up into his own arms, feeling as if he is handling finest porcelain as he tries not to crush his brother with his newfound strength.

“Thank you,” he says when he lets go. 

“so… what now?” Sans wants to know. 

“We plan for the future,” Papyrus says. “For a new life on the surface.”

“what about the humans?” Sans asks, allowing his eye lights to roam over the beautiful view of the countryside before them, the slope of the mountain and the forest, the glittering sea and the city in the distance.

“Whatever happens with them,” Papyrus says calmly, quietly, accepting, “I will do my duty.”


End file.
